


Of Pumpkins and Horror Movies

by PerfectlyHopeless



Series: Glass Cannon & Other Short Works [3]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 19:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8297320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: Shep learns about Halloween and watches old films with her boyfriend.





	

Rhea stared at the thing that James had set down on the mess hall table. Her brows pinched in the middle as she poked at the plastic orange… thing that her Lieutenant had brought aboard the Normandy after their last visit to the Citadel.

“James, what is this thing?” she asked, poking at it still. It looked almost like a large fruit.

He glanced over at her from the kitchen, smirking. “I got it while we were on the Citadel. Found it at this weird human shop on the Presidium.”

“I didn’t ask where it came from,” she said pointedly. “I asked, what is it?”

He laughed a bit and looked over at her, meeting the gaze of her green eyes with his brown. “Come on, Lola. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a pumpkin before.”

Her expression contorted into a look of confusion. “A what?”

“A pumpkin,” he repeated. “You know, like they have at Halloween? Which is coming up, by the way.”

She blinked at him, staring blankly. “Am I supposed to know what that is?”

James’s eyes went wide. “Seriously?” She continued to stare, causing him to laugh. “You’re shitting me.”

“I shit you not,” she said easily.

The elevator let out a little hiss, putting her on alert for a moment before seeing that it was just Kaidan. Despite their falling out romantically, the two made for decent friends. He walked into the mess, nodding at her in greeting and smiling slightly at the sight of her. His gaze fell on the pumpkin and he smiled wider. “Is it Halloween yet?

“You know what that is too?” she said, her mouth agape.

“Of course,” he said. “You don’t?”

She frowned, almost pouting. “If this is some joke, I’m tossing you guys out the airlock.”

“No joke,” Kaidan said. “It’s kinda surprising, though. I would have thought you’d love Halloween.”

Rhea huffed. “Can one of you explain what that is for the very confused girl over here?”

“It’s just a fun holiday,” James said. “Kids dress up in costumes and go around their neighborhoods asking their neighbors for candy. Pumpkins are these big gourds that get faces carved into them and put on doorsteps. They used to be used to ward off evil spirits.”

“I call bullshit, there’s no way that’s a real thing,” Rhea insisted, sitting on the table and folding her arms over her chest defiantly.

“I promise you, Shepard, it’s a real thing.”

Kaidan chimed in as he stood by James, “It’s pretty much popular all over Earth.”

“I feel like you guys forget that I’m not really from Earth,” she said. “Spacer kid, remember?”

James shook his head. “There’s no way that you could have never heard of Halloween. Did you celebrate any holidays?”

Rhea was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Um… no. No, I don’t think so.”

Another hiss sounded through the room as Garrus emerged from the battery. He seemed confused by the three humans sitting around the mess. “What’s going on?”

“Lola here says she doesn’t know anything about Halloween,” James said. Rhea’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Dammit Vega, I will throw this pump-thing at you,” the Vanguard threatened as her fingers itched to start up her biotics. Garrus stepped over to her and put a hand on her shoulder to get her to relax. Huffing, she looked up at him almost desperately. “Please tell me you have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Garrus looked over at the other two humans. “Well… during my C-Sec days I overheard some human officers talking about something like that.”

“Hah!” James said triumphantly.

“Oh, come on!” Rhea cried out, a bit irritated now as her fingers itched.

“Hey, Scars,” James said, looking to the turian. “I’ve got some vids for you and your girlfriend to watch.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Vega, I swear…”

“They’re not like that, I swear,” he said, his hands up in surrender. “They’re pretty old, though. And human made. But still good.”

“What are they?” she asked, still wary.

James tapped something on the holo of his omni-tool. “Some old films, I think you’d like them. They’re Halloween-ish, just give them a try.”

Rhea huffed as she got the ping on her bracelet. She dismissed it with ease. “Maybe later. But first, what the hell are you planning to do with this pump-thing?”

“Pumpkin,” he corrected. “Carve it, of course.” James stepped over to the table and reached between Garrus and Rhea, forcing the two to separate so he could grab his plastic pumpkin.

“Of course,” she echoed nervously. “What are you going to do, put it next to the airlock to ward away the Reapers?”

“You never know, it could work,” he joked.

Rhea rolled her eyes. “Of course. What else have we got to lose?”

“Exactly,” he said.

Kaidan nodded at this. “Come on, Shepard. We’ve got a lot of folks from Earth working on this ship. I think it’d be a good boost for morale if they saw something that reminds them of home.”

She met the gaze of his brown eyes, holding it for a couple seconds before letting out a sigh. “Fine,” she relented. “Just… try not to hurt yourselves. We do have other things to do when we’re not sitting around on the Citadel.”

James smiled at this, Kaidan helpfully supplying the soldier with a knife that they hoped would cut through the plastic of the fake orange gourd.

Rhea shook her head at the two boys, watching them for a moment before pulling up the message that James had sent her. It was a list of a few vids, the titles ranging from ridiculous sounding names like _Nightmare on Elm Street_ to simple things like _Halloween_. Her brows furrowed, but she was intrigued.

“How about it?” she asked.

“How about what?” Garrus asked, looking down at his girlfriend.

“A date night,” she suggested. “We meet in my cabin, watch a couple vids together. Could be fun.”

His mandibles flared slightly, an expression Rhea recognized as a smile that made her hopeful. “Sounds good to me.”

She grinned at this, pulling him down a bit to press her forehead against his. He relaxed under her touch at this and she moved to kiss him.

“‘Ey!” James called from the kitchen, interrupting her before her lips even met his mouth. “Watch the PDA.”

Rhea made a face at him then hopped down from the table. She looked up at her boyfriend. “I should go, I’ve got some stuff to do. Meet me in my cabin later?”

“Of course,” Garrus said. Rhea smiled at this, giving his hand a little squeeze before walking off.

 

* * *

 

Rhea stepped out of her shower, towel around her and her short locks dripping onto her shoulders. She unwrapped herself and rubbed out the dampness from her black hair before padding across the cool floor to her dresser. A smile touched her face while she hummed, pulling on comfortable clothes for the evening. Her door opened and Garrus stepped in clad in his civilian clothes. He’d slept there with her many nights since they’d been reunited on Menae months before. It felt as though it was as much his cabin as hers sometimes.

She smiled at him, meeting him at the stairs. “Hey.”

He smiled back at her. “Hi,” he said in return, having to bend down to press his forehead to hers. He nuzzled against her for a brief moment before stepping further into her room. “So, what are we watching?”

“I figured we’d start with the one titled, _Halloween_ ,” she said, pulling it up on her omni-tool. “Found it on the extranet. It’s more than a hundred years old, but James insists that all the movies on his list are good. Then there’s one called _Alien_ , if there’s still some time. Again, really old. But it takes place in space, so that should be somewhat interesting. Is that okay?”

Garrus looked down at her, his smile in his eyes now. “Works for me.”

She beamed at him. “Perfect.”

The two arranged Rhea’s pillows so that they’d be comfortable, Garrus sitting up against the headboard while Rhea nestled against his left side while he put his arm around her shoulders. The lights in her room went off and she activated the glass of her display so that it acted as a large screen, transferring the movie from her omni-tool to it so that they got a bigger picture.

Rhea was utterly amused by _Halloween_ , she and Garrus both laughing at just how fake looking the murder scenes were and the over the top acting. She shook her head at what she assumed was an attempt to scare her. All she gathered from the movie was that humans had always been absurd.

The next one up was _Alien_. She expected to be just as amused, but by the time the main characters had found the alien spacecraft she’d latched onto Garrus’ hand.

He looked down at her, confused by her reaction. “You good, Rhea?” he asked her, using her first name to express his concern.

“Y-yeah, I’m good,” she said, though her grip didn’t loosen. He didn’t believe her, but it was just a vid.

Rhea jumped in the bed at the sight of the creature bursting from Kane’s chest, unable to take her eyes from the screen as the thing ran away. Garrus looked down at her again, amazed that she was actually scared by this. He didn’t say anything about it. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her.

They kept watching the movie, Rhea clinging to him and fidgeting with the glove he had on until he pulled it off. She folded her fingers between his, feel of his leathery palm grounding her while they kept watching. Her eyes kept on the screen as one by one the crew were killed off and the plot thickened. Garrus had to admit, it wasn’t terrible and could have been much worse. But Rhea was still terrified.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

“Y-yeah,” she said weakly, still holding tightly to his hand. He ran his thumb across hers, the action seeming to get her to relax some more. She jumped suddenly as the alien that the movie was named for came onto the screen again. He held her closer to him, the usually fearless Vanguard holding onto her boyfriend as though her life depended on it.

Rhea seemed to relax a bit as Ripley made it to the shuttle, her grip on Garrus’ hand loosening until she realized that the alien creature was in the shuttle with her. She cried out at this, almost whimpering until the alien was out of the shuttle. Only then did she start to breath normally, the movie coming to an end.

As the credits started to roll she shut off the screen, her fish tank dimly lighting the room while she still held onto Garrus.

“Rhea,” he started again, “Are you alright?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, swallowing and breathing deeply. “I, uh… c-could you stay the night? Please?”

He looked at her, amused. “Are you scared?”

“No,” Rhea lied. “I just… I don’t want to sleep alone tonight. In this ship. That visits alien worlds frequently.”

“You can say that it scared you, Rhea,” he insisted, brushing her wavy hair out of her face. “You won’t get any judgement from me.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Don’t tell Vega,” she said finally. “He’ll never let me live this down. I bet he put that damn vid on the list because he knew it would freak me out…”

“Rhea,” he said, cutting off her rambling. She swallowed and looked up at him, finding solace in the gaze of his blue eyes. “I promise I won’t say anything.”

The Vanguard nodded, cozying up to him some more and kissing his hand. “Thanks, Garrus.”

He smiled down at her, shifting so that they could be more comfortable on her bed. She continued to cling to her boyfriend for the rest of the evening, as though just touching him made her somehow safer. He didn’t mind at all, happy to be there for her.


End file.
